An interventional study of Gd-IgA1 monitoring in IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) and Henoch Schönlein Purpura Nephritis, sponsored by Hong Zhang. Recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-16.
Sponsored by Hong Zhang · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this open-label, randomized study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the personalized treatment model in which Gd-IgA1 is dynamically monitored to guide medication adjustment in progressive IgAN patients treated with Nefecon or telitacicept.
Researchers will compare two groups of participants: those who have Gd-IgA1 checked regularly during treatment, and those who do not. This is to find out if regular Gd-IgA1 checks can help doctors adjust medication better and get better treatment results.
IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerulonephritis worldwide and a leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in young adults. Even with standard supportive care, many patients still experience worsening renal function and eventually develop ESRD.
The widely accepted multi-hit pathogenesis of IgAN recognizes the production of galactose-deficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1) as the key step. Pathogenic Gd-IgA1 forms immune complexes that deposit in the kidney, triggering inflammation and renal damage, which serves as a target for new regimens.
Two novel targeted therapies have shown positive clinical effects for IgAN:
However, the clinical effects of these novel therapies usually take time to appear (e.g., a significant drop in urinary protein with Nefecon is often seen 3 to 6 months after treatment). Early, sensitive indicators reflecting therapeutic effects are needed to enable timely adjustment of treatment plans.
Biomarkers (e.g., Gd-IgA1) decline earlier than urinary protein, which is highly significant for monitoring early treatment efficacy and optimizing personalized treatment decisions.
275 studies on the registry are indexed under Glomerulonephritis, IGA; 107 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 374 is above the median of 62 across 221 interventional studies indexed under Glomerulonephritis, IGA.
Browse Glomerulonephritis, IGA studies →Hong Zhang is the lead sponsor of 3 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.
Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.
Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.
After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.
Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.
A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
A score of how well the liver works in people with liver disease such as cirrhosis: class A is mild, B moderate and C severe.
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.
Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.
Biopsy and archival tissue
A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.
Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
HIV
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hepatitis C tests
Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.
After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hepatitis B tests
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.
Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
HbA1c
A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Child-Pugh class
A score of how well the liver works in people with liver disease such as cirrhosis: class A is mild, B moderate and C severe.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ALT and AST (liver enzymes)
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ULN (upper limit of normal)
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Bilirubin
A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.
Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Based on the combined results of reductions in urinary protein, Gd-IgA1 levels and other parameters, clinicians can thus evaluate early treatment efficacy and make timely medication adjustments - either continuing the original treatment, increasing the dose, or switching to another medication.
Diagnostic Test: Gd-IgA1 monitoring
Clinicians will make medication adjustment base on urinary protein and other laboratory test parameters if necessary.
Participants in the experimental group will undergo a total of five Gd-IgA1 tests at baseline and during the follow-up period, and their clinicians will use these results to guide medication adjustment.
Mean change in 24-hour proteinuria from baseline at the end of follow-up
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of follow-up at 12 months
Mean change in 24-hour proteinuria from baseline at the midpoint of follow-up
Time frame: From enrollment to the middle of follow-up period at 6 months
Change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)
eGFR is calculated using the CKD-EPI method.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of follow-up at 12 months
Complete remission of proteinuria
24-hour urine total protein ≤ 0.3 g with a concurrent eGFR decline ≤ 30%
Time frame: From enrollment to the midpoint of follow-up (6 months) and over the entire 12-month follow-up period
Immunosuppressant exposure measures
Cumulative dosage of non-corticosteroid immunosuppressants, cumulative dosage of systemic corticosteroids converted to prednisone-equivalent dosage, and number of corticosteroid bolus therapy courses during follow-up. Consecutive daily bolus doses count as one course; topical corticosteroids are excluded.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of follow-up at 12 months
The incidence rate and severity of adverse events
An adverse event is any undesirable experience associated with the study intervention in a patient.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of follow-up (12 months)
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Aug 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Feb 2028, 18 months after the start.
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